Food-slicing machines

ABSTRACT

A solid food slicer for bacon and the like including a pair of circular blades journaled at the opposite ends of an elongated centrally pivoted rotor driven about a horizontal axis in a vertical plane. The blades are driven in a direction opposite to that of the rotor by a double pulley coaxial with but rotatable independently of the rotor drive shaft, a belt engaging one portion of the double pulley and both of a pair of drive pulleys attached to the respective rotatable cutting blades. The second belt engages the other portion of the double pulley to couple the same to a drive motor.

United States Patent Swann 51 Feb. 22, 1972 [54] FOOD-SLICING MACHINES[72] inventor: William Richard Swann, Rudgwick, Nr.

Horsham, Sussex, England 22 Filed: July 7,1969

21 Appl.No.: 839,425

[52] US. Cl ..146/94, 146/101 3,428,102 2/1969 Knecht et a] ..149/94 XFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 798,637 7/l958 Great Britain 146/101Primary Examiner-William S. Lawson An0rneyScrivener, Parker, Scrivenerand Clarke [57] ABSTRACT A solid food slicer for bacon and'the likeincluding a pair of circular blades joumaled at the opposite ends of anelongated centrally pivoted rotor driven about a horizontal axis in avertical plane. The blades are driven in a direction opposite to that ofthe rotor by a double pulley coaxial with but rotatable independently ofthe rotor drive shaft, a belt engaging one portion of the double pulleyand both of a pair of drive pulleys attached to the respective rotatablecutting blades. The second belt engages the other portion of the doublepulley to couple the same to a drive motor.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEB22 I972 3.643.718

sum 2 BF 5 II III FOOD-SLICING MACHINES The present invention relates toapparatus for slicing solid food material, such as bacon, cooked meat,bread, etc.

According to the present invention, apparatus for slicing solid foodmaterial comprises a frame on which is journaled an elongated rotor forrotation about a horizontal axis. Two circular cutting blades arejournaled to opposite ends of the rotor for rotation about an axisslightly inclined relative to the rotational axis of the rotor. Adriving pulley is coupled to each cutting blade and a double pulley isjournaled coaxially about but rotatable independently of the drive shaftof the rotor, belt means being provided and engaging one pulley portionof the double pulley and both of the driving pulleys of the cuttingblades. Second belt means drivingly connect a drive motor to the otherportion of the double pulley with means being provided for rotating thedriving shaft of the elongate rotor in the opposite rotational directionto that of the double pulley.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front elevation ofone embodiment of apparatusconstructed according to the present invention for slicing bacon;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic sectional side elevation of the apparatus ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, of one embodiment of abatching unit for operation with the apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation, partly in section of the batching unit ofFIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the batching unit ofFIG. 3.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the most important features of a slicingapparatus for slicing bacon. The apparatus includes a pair of cuttingblades 3 and 4 adapted to be rotated within a housing 2. The housing 2is generally cylindrical, having a front cover 22 and a rear cover 23,the longitudinal dimension of the housing 2 being substantially smallerthan its radial dimension. The housing 2 is mounted on a supportingframe 1 and attached thereto by means of bolts 72. A hollow frame member5 is mounted on the frame 1 engagement with the housing 2. A cylindricaltubular member 70 is connected to the frame member 5 so as to extendcoaxially within the housing 2, a shaft 31 being journaled coaxiallywithin the tubular member 70 and the frame member 5 by bearings 7 and 6respectively.

The end of the shaft 31 which extends into the housing carries acylindrical boss 8. The other end of the shaft 31 extends from the framemember 5 in a direction away from the housing and carries a pair ofadjacent pulleys 9,71.

A double pulley 10, having a large diameter portion 12 and a smalldiameter portion 13, is journaled coaxially on the tu bular member 70 bymeans of bearing 11 so that it is capable of free rotation on thetubular member 7 within the housing 2.

The cylindrical boss 8 is rigidly keyed to an elongated carrier in theform of a rotor 14 having symmetrical arms 17 and 18. The rotor 14 iscast with recesses 15 and 16in the arms 18 and 17 respectively and ismounted on the boss 8 such that rotation of the shaft 31 rotates thearms 17 and 18 in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of theshaft 31 which axis is longitudinal.

The extremity of the outer arm 18 has a bore 19 in which a shaft 20 isjournaled in bearings 21. The end of the shaft 20 which is nearest therear cover 23 carries a pulley 24. The pulley 24 is arranged to lie insubstantially the same plane as the pulley 12, their respective ofrotation being substantially, but not quite, parallel. The other end ofthe shaft 20 carries a boss 25 to which the circular cutting blade 3 isrigidly attached.

In a similar manner the outer extremity of the arm 17 has a bore 26 inwhich a shaft 27 is journaled in bearings 28. The end of the shaft 27which is nearest the rear cover 23 carries a pulley 29. The pulley 29 isarranged to liein substantially the same plane as the pulley 12, theirrespective axes of rotation being substantially, but not quite,parallel. The other end of the shaft 27 carries a boss 30 to which thecircular cutting blade 4 is rigidly attached. A closed belt 32 engagesthe pulleys 24, 29 and 12.

A second closed belt 33 engages the pulley 13, a motordriven pulley 73and a drive pulley 74 of a variable speed drive (not shown) for theshaft 31. Rotation of the pulley 13 by the motor driven pulley 73 causesthe pulleys 24 and 29 to be driven via the belt 32 and hence the cuttingblades 3 and 4 to be rotated in the bearings 21 and 28, respectively.

A third closed belt 35 engages the pulley 9 on the shaft 31 and alsoengages a further pulley 75 drivable by the variable speed drive 76.Rotation of the pulley 9 by the variable speed drive 76 effects rotationof the arms 17 and 18 relative to the frame member 5.

In the present embodiment the pulley 9 and the cutting blades 3, 4 arearranged to rotate in opposite directions at rotational speeds ofapproximately 240 r.p.m. and 3,000 r.p.m. respectively. The requiredrotational speeds are given to the cutting blades by appropriate choiceof pulley sizes and gear ratios in the variable speed drive.

The shafts 20 and 27 on which the cutting blades 3 and 4 rotate arearranged to be at a slight angle to the shaft 31 on which the rotor 14rotates so that the blades 3, 4 do not quite lie in a planeperpendicular to the rotor axis, for a reason which will be explainedbelow. Although the three pulleys 24, 29, 12 do not, therefore, lie in asingle plane, the inclination of the blade axes is sufficiently smallfor the belt 32 to satisfactorily drivingly engage all three pulleys.

Means are provided at the lower end of the cutting mechanism describedabove for feeding pieces of bacon, which are to be sliced, to therotating cutting blades 3,4. A bacon-receiving passage 36 is formedbetween a set of pressure plates 37 arranged in a steplike manner sothat each plate overlaps a portion of an adjacent plate and a spike slatchain 38 having a plurality of hingelike joints between the slats of thechain. The chain 38 may be driven continuously by a second variablespeed drive 77 which is driven from the main shaft 31 by the pulley 71and a belt 78 and which determines the rate of progress of a piece ofbacon along the passage 36 towards a slicing station 112 located at anopening in the lower side of the housing 2 vertically below therotational axis of the rotor 14.

In use, pieces of bacon are placed on a fixed platform 40 at the inletto the passage 36 on the rear of the machine and fed continuously alongthe passage 36 to the slicing station 112.

I The shafts 20 and 27 are aligned relative to the rotor 14 such thattwo conditions are met when each blade is in its lowermost position,corresponding to the position occupied by the shaft 27 inFIGS. l and 2in which the shaft 27 lies vertically below the axis of the rotor shaft31. Firstly, the rotational axis of the blade lies in a horizontal planeand, secondly, the rotational axis of the blade is inclined relative tothe feeding direction of the conveyor 38, which feeding direction isparallel to the axis of rotation of the rotor 14, with the instantaneoustrailing edge of the blade, considered in the direction of movement ofthe blade brought about by rotation of the rotor 14, further from theinlet 36' than the leading edge. This arrangement enables the bacon tobe fed continuously during a slicing action of the blades withoutjamming of the bacon against the blade performing a slice, since thedisplacement in the feeding direction of that part of a piece of baconwhich has already been cut in that slicing action can be accommodatedbehind the inclined blade. The slice thickness may be varied by changingthe speed of the chain 38 and hence the feeding velocity of the baconpieces.

FIGS. 3,4 and 5 illustrate the most important features of a batchingunit the purpose of which is to receive the bacon slice from the cuttingmechanism and to transfer them to a delivery conveyor in batches ofbetween four and ten slices, separated by distances of 6 inches to 1foot. Each batch is to be shingled, that is, the slices are to be laidso that each slice overlaps a portion of the slice below.

The batching unit includes a main frame member 43 which is of generallyrectangular boxlike shape. An electric motor is located at one side ofsaid frame member 43 adjacent one end thereof. The electric motor has avertical shaft which drives a horizontal shaft 45 by means of a wormreduction gear 44 l0l024 m mounted above the motor. The shaft 45projects from opposite sides of a housing of the reduction gear 44, andis arranged to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof the frame member 43. The end of the shaft 45 nearest to the framemember 43 carries a pulley 46. A belt 47 operably connects the pulley 46to a pulley 48 which is carried by a shaft 49 journaled in parallelsidewalls 50,51 of the frame member 43. The axis of the shaft 49 isparallel to the shaft 45 of the motor 44. A tensioner pulley 52,rotatably carried by an arm 55 which is attached by a pillar 54 to ahousing of the reduction gear 44, engages the belt 47.

The projecting end of the motor-driven shaft 45 remote from the framemember 43 carries a pulley 56. The pulley 56 is operably connected by abelt 57 to a pulley 58 which is freely carried by a shaft 59 journaledin a subframe 60. The axis of the shaft 59 is parallel to the shaft 45.A single revolution clutch 110 is also arranged on the shaft 59. Whenactuated the clutch 110 operably connects the pulley 58 to the shaft 59,allowing the shaft 59 to be rotated once through a complete revolution.One end of the shaft 59 extends from the subframe 60 towards the framewall 50 and has a crank arm 61 rigidly attached thereto. The crank arm61 is arranged such that it rotates in a plane parallel to said framewall 50 when the shaft 59 is rotated.

The frame wall 50 is provided with a pair of horizontal rails, an upperrail 62 being located vertically above and parallel to a lower rail 63.A carriage 64 is provided with runners 65, 66 which operably engage therails 63 and 62, respectively. Each runner 65, 66 comprises a rotatablymounted disc having a circumferential groove for engaging its respectiverail.

The carriage 64 is provided with a substantially vertically extendinguniform slot 84 of uniform width formed between two members 80,81. Theouter end of the crank arm 61 has a bore 82 in which a pin 83 isrotatably mounted such that one end of the pin 83 extends into the slot84. This end of the pin 83 rotatably carries a cam follower 85 whosediameter is slightly less than the width of the slot 84.

Rotation of the crank arm 61 by the shaft 59 causes the carriage 64 tobe reciprocated parallel to the longitudinal axis of the frame member43, the guide pulley 85 performing a reciprocating motion in thevertically extending slot 84.

The shaft 49 carrying the pulley 48 has a plurality of equally spacedpulleys 86 rigidly attached thereto in the region between the sidewalls50, 51. A shaft 88 is journaled between the sidewalls 50,51 at the endof the frame member 43 remote from said aforementioned one end and has aplurality of further pulleys 87 rigidly mounted thereon. The shaft 88 isarranged to be parallel to the shaft 49, and each pulley 87 to belocated opposite a corresponding pulley 86. A plurality of closed belts94 pass around respective pairs of pulleys 86, 87. These belts togetherform a high-speed delivery conveyor.

A slow-speed conveyor for receiving the bacon slices from the cuttingmechanism is located at said one end of the frame member 43 and includestwo parallel shafts 89, 90 journaled between the sidewalls 50, 51 eachshaft 89, 90 having a plurality of equally spaced pulleys 91, 92 rigidlymounted thereon. Pairs of pulleys on the shafts 89, 90 are locatedopposite one another and are connected by respective closed belts 93.The pulleys of the delivery conveyor and of the slow speed conveyor arearranged such that one end of each belt 94 is adjacent an end of a belt93. The carrying surfaces of the belts 93, 94 being coplanar. Thus thereis a substantially uniform gap between each adjacent pair of belts 94which is continued between each respective pair of belts 93 which iscontinued between each respective pair of belts 93 so that the uniformgaps extend substantially along the whole length of the frame member 43.

The slow-speed conveyor is driven by a variable speed drive through aseries of pulleys 95 whereby the speed is adjusted to the requiredamount of overlap in the shingling.

The carriage 64 has a beam 96 rigidly attached thereto, the beam 96extending horizontally above the belts and perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the frame member 43. A plurality of fingers 97 arerigidly attached by their respective ONE ends to the beam 96 and extendsubstantially horizontally in the direction of said one end of the framemember 43. Each finger 97 lies parallel to and above the carryingsurface ofa respective belt 93 ro 94, depending on the position of thecarriage 64.

The carriage 64 has a boss 98 located thereon at a vertical level belowthat of the beam 96, the boss including a cylindrical bore 99 the axisof which is parallel to that of the beam 96. Journaled in a sleevewithin said bore 99 is a second beam 100. This beam 100 has a furtherplurality of fingers 101 rigidly attached thereto which are eachsupported by the beam so as to be parallel to and in the vertical planeof a space between adjacent ones of the belts 93, 94 and all of whichfingers 10!l extend in the direction towards said one end of the framemember 43. Each finger 101 has a width slightly less than the gapbetween adjacent belts 92 or 93 and is aligned to be movable in arespective one of said gaps when the beam 100 is rotated.

One end of the beam 100 projects from the carriage 64 through the boss98 in a direction towards the crank arm 61. Rigidly attached to this oneend of the beam 100 is a member 102 (dotted in FIG. 5) having a yokeportion 103. The yoke portion 103 engages a horizontal pin 104 carriedby a swinging member 105 which member 105 is rotatably mounted on theframe member 43 by a pivot 106. The swinging member 105 has a kinkedguide surface 107 which slidingly engages a cam follower on the crankpin83. The components are so arranged that when the guide pulley isreciprocated in the slot 84, the swinging member 105 is rocked by thecrank pin 83. This rocking movement is transferred via the pin 104 andyoke 103 to the beam 100, thus raising or lowering the free ends of thefingers 101 relative to the belts 93 or 94. It is further arranged thatthe maximum height reached by the free ends of the fingers 101 is justbelow the horizontal level of the fingers 97 and the minimum height isbelow the conveyor belts 93, 94. The rest position of the crank arm 61is 180 from the position shown in FIG. 3.

When the crank 61 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow inFIG. 5, the carriage 64 is horizontally reciprocated between the rails62,63 from the position shown in FIG. 3, in which the free ends of bothsets of fingers 97, 101 are in the region of the input end of the slowspeed conveyor adjacent said one end of the frame member 43, to theposition corresponding to l rotation of the crank arm 61 in which thefree ends are both sets of fingers 97, 101 are adjacent the deliveryconveyor.

In FIG. 5 the crank is shown in its horizontal position. The guidepulley is moving upwards and is just about to engage the guide surface107 of the swinging member 105. The guide surface 107 is kinked belowthe point 108 to ensure that the guide pulley does not engage thesurface 107 when it is below the vertical level it occupies in FIG. 5.When the guide pulley 85 moves upwards and engages the surface 107, theswinging member 105 is rocked clockwise (as seen in FIG. 5) and the yokeand beam rotated anticlockwise. The free ends of the fingers 101 arethus raised as the carriage begins to move to the left (as seen in FIG.5). Shingled bacon slices which have been laid on the slow-speed belts93 are thus picked up and trapped between the fingers 101 and 97. Thefingers 10] remain in this raised trapping position while the carriageis moved to its maximum left-hand position (FIG. 5). As the crankcontinues to rotate, the guide pulley breaks contact with the guidesurface 107 and the fingers 101 move downwards again below the level ofthe belts 94, thus depositing the bacon slices on these belts 94 as thecarriage is returned towards the position of FIG. 5.

Means are provided (not shown) for electronically counting the number ofslices of bacon which have been dropped onto the slow-speed shingling"conveyor 62 and when this has reached a preset figure, the counter emitsa signal which triggers a solenoid arranged to engage a clutch andinitiate a single revolution of the crank arm 61 and the resultingtransfer by the two sets of fingers of the bacon on the shinglingconveyor 62 to the delivery conveyor 65.

The number of slices of bacon which have been cut can be counted byattaching a magnet at a suitable position on one of the rotor arms 17,18 so that it passes near to a corresponding detecting unit as the rotoris rotated.

A slice control unit may also be provided which is adapted to record theimpact of each slice as it lands on the slow-speed shingling conveyor62. This may be accomplished either by mounting this conveyor 62 on aweighing head or by running the belts 63 of the conveyor over floatingrails carried on a weighing head. The size of each impact isproportional to the mass of each slice, so that a succession of signalsis available to adjust the variable speed control on the feed unit so asto maintain the slice weight substantially constant.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for slicing solid food material comprising:

a frame;

an elongated rotor journaled on said frame for rotation about ahorizontal axis;

two circular cutting blades journaled on the rotor for rotation aboutaxes slightly inclined relative to the rotational axes of the rotor, thetwo blades being located adjacent the two ends respectively of therotor;

a driving pulley coupled to each cutting blade respectively;

a driving shaft for the rotor;

a double pulley journaled coaxially about, but rotatable independentlyof, said rotor driving shaft;

belt means engaging one pulley portion of said double pulley and bothsaid driving pulleys of the cutting blades; motor means;

second belt means drivingly connecting said motor means to the otherpulley portion ofsaid double pulley; and

means for rotating the driving shaft of the rotor in the oppositerotational direction to that of the double pulley.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising spiked conveyormeans located on said frame for continuously feeding and presentingpieces of cooked meat to said cutting blades, and means for varying thefeeding speed of said spiked conveyor means to enable the thickness ofslices cut by the blades to be adjusted.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which batching means are located onsaid frame beneath said cutting blades, said batching means comprisingslow conveyor means, fast conveyor means, carriage means reciprocablebetween said fast and slow conveyor means, a plurality of fixed fingerscarried by said carriage, a plurality of movable fingers carried by saidcarriage, means for moving said movable fingers towards said fixedfingers to trap therebetween and pick up slices of meat carried by saidslow conveyor means, and means for moving the carriage between said slowand fast conveyor means and releasing the trapped slices onto said fastconveyor means.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which the slow and fast conveyormeans each comprise an equal number of parallel, spaced-apart belts anda plurality of pairs of pulleys over each of which runs a respectivebelt, each space between adjacent belts on said slow conveyor meansbeing aligned with a corresponding space between adjacent belts on saidfast conveyor means, the carrying surfaces of the fast and slow conveyormeans being substantially coplanar, said fixed fingers being carried bysaid carriage above the level of said carrying surface of said twoconveyor means, and a beam located below said level and supporting saidmovable fingers.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which each fixed finger is locatedparallel to and above a corresponding said belt and each said movablefinger is located by said beam parallel to and in the vertical plane ofa corresponding space between adjacent belts so that, when said beam isangularly displaced. respective portions of said movable fingers extendabove said surface level to pick up slices of meat carried by said beltsand to trap them against said fixed fingers.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 comprising means for rotatingupwardlsaid portions of said movable fin ers when the carriage IS a acent saidslow conveyor means w ereby to pick up slices of meat from the slowconveyor means, means for retaining the fingers in their trappingposition while the carriage is moved towards said fast conveyor means,and means for rotating downwardly said movable fingers when the carriageis adjacent said fast conveyor means whereby to release said slices ontosaid fast conveyor means, means being provided for retaining the movablefingers in their downwardly rotated position while the carriage isreturned towards the slow conveyor means.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which said carriagereciprocatingmeans comprises a rotatable crank on said batching device, meansdefining a vertical slot in said carriage, a pin carried by said crankand slidably received in said slot, and an angularly displaceable camrigidly attached to said beam, the pin being arranged, during at leastpart of a revolution of said crank, to engage said angularlydisplaceable cam for providing said angular movement of the movablefingers when the carriage is reciprocated between said conveyors.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 further comprising means for detectingthe impact of each slice as it lands on said slow speed conveyor meansand for adjusting the speed of said spiked conveyor means accordingly soas to maintain the slide weight constant.

H024 our

1. Apparatus for slicing solid food material comprising: a frame; anelongated rotor journaled on said frame for rotation about a horizontalaxis; two circular cutting blades journaled on the rotor for rotationabout axes slightly inclined relative to the rotational axes of therotor, the two blades being located adjacent the two ends respectivelyof the rotor; a driving pulley coupled to each cutting bladerespectively; a driving shaft for the rotor; a double pulley journaledcoaxially about, but rotatable independently of, said rotor drivingshaft; belt means engaging one pulley portion of said double pulley andboth said driving pulleys of the Cutting blades; motor means; secondbelt means drivingly connecting said motor means to the other pulleyportion of said double pulley; and means for rotating the driving shaftof the rotor in the opposite rotational direction to that of the doublepulley.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising spikedconveyor means located on said frame for continuously feeding andpresenting pieces of cooked meat to said cutting blades, and means forvarying the feeding speed of said spiked conveyor means to enable thethickness of slices cut by the blades to be adjusted.
 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 in which batching means are located on said framebeneath said cutting blades, said batching means comprising slowconveyor means, fast conveyor means, carriage means reciprocable betweensaid fast and slow conveyor means, a plurality of fixed fingers carriedby said carriage, a plurality of movable fingers carried by saidcarriage, means for moving said movable fingers towards said fixedfingers to trap therebetween and pick up slices of meat carried by saidslow conveyor means, and means for moving the carriage between said slowand fast conveyor means and releasing the trapped slices onto said fastconveyor means.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which the slow andfast conveyor means each comprise an equal number of parallel,spaced-apart belts and a plurality of pairs of pulleys over each ofwhich runs a respective belt, each space between adjacent belts on saidslow conveyor means being aligned with a corresponding space betweenadjacent belts on said fast conveyor means, the carrying surfaces of thefast and slow conveyor means being substantially coplanar, said fixedfingers being carried by said carriage above the level of said carryingsurface of said two conveyor means, and a beam located below said leveland supporting said movable fingers.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 4in which each fixed finger is located parallel to and above acorresponding said belt and each said movable finger is located by saidbeam parallel to and in the vertical plane of a corresponding spacebetween adjacent belts so that, when said beam is angularly displaced,respective portions of said movable fingers extend above said surfacelevel to pick up slices of meat carried by said belts and to trap themagainst said fixed fingers.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 comprisingmeans for rotating upwardly said portions of said movable fingers whenthe carriage is adjacent said slow conveyor means whereby to pick upslices of meat from the slow conveyor means, means for retaining thefingers in their trapping position while the carriage is moved towardssaid fast conveyor means, and means for rotating downwardly said movablefingers when the carriage is adjacent said fast conveyor means wherebyto release said slices onto said fast conveyor means, means beingprovided for retaining the movable fingers in their downwardly rotatedposition while the carriage is returned towards the slow conveyor means.7. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which said carriage-reciprocatingmeans comprises a rotatable crank on said batching device, meansdefining a vertical slot in said carriage, a pin carried by said crankand slidably received in said slot, and an angularly displaceable camrigidly attached to said beam, the pin being arranged, during at leastpart of a revolution of said crank, to engage said angularlydisplaceable cam for providing said angular movement of the movablefingers when the carriage is reciprocated between said conveyors. 8.Apparatus according to claim 7 further comprising means for detectingthe impact of each slice as it lands on said slow speed conveyor meansand for adjusting the speed of said spiked conveyor means accordingly soas to maintain the slide weight constant.